The Crossing Places

When she's not digging up bones or other ancient objects, Ruth Galloway lectures at the University of North Norfolk. She lives happily alone in a remote place called Saltmarsh overlooking the North Sea and, for company; she has her cats Flint and Sparky, and Radio 4. When a child's bones are found in the marshes near an ancient site that Ruth worked on ten years earlier, Ruth is asked to date them.

The Zig Zag Girl

Brighton, 1950. The body of a girl is found cut into three pieces. Detective Inspector Edgar Stephens is convinced the killer is mimicking a famous magic trick - the Zig Zag Girl. The inventor of the trick, Max Mephisto, is an old war friend of Edgar's. They served together in a shadowy unit called the Magic Men, a special ops troop that used stage tricks to confound the enemy. Max is on the traveling show circuit, touring seaside towns with ventriloquists, sword-swallowers, and dancing girls.

Dark Water: Detective Erika Foster, Book 3

When Detective Erika Foster receives a tip-off that key evidence for a major narcotics case was stashed in a disused quarry on the outskirts of London, she orders for it to be searched. From the thick sludge the drugs are recovered, but so is the skeleton of a young child. The remains are quickly identified as seven-year-old Jessica Collins. The missing girl who made headline news 26 years ago.

tmitch says:"i really love this series!! i have listened to all three books. i hope there is another one soon."

Blood Lines: Detective Kim Stone Crime Thriller Series, Book 5

A victim killed with a single, precise stab to the heart appears at first glance to be a robbery gone wrong. A caring, upstanding social worker lost to a senseless act of violence. But for Detective Kim Stone, something doesn't add up. When a local drug addict is found murdered with an identical wound, Kim knows instinctively that she is dealing with the same killer. But with nothing to link the two victims except the cold, calculated nature of their death, this could be her most difficult case yet.

A Great Reckoning: A Novel

When an intricate old map is found stuffed into the walls of the bistro in Three Pines, it at first seems no more than a curiosity. But the closer the villagers look, the stranger it becomes. Given to Armand Gamache as a gift the first day of his new job, the map eventually leads him to shattering secrets. To an old friend and older adversary. It leads the former Chief of Homicide for the Sûreté du Québec to places even he is afraid to go. But must. And there he finds four young cadets in the Sûreté academy, and a dead professor. And, with the body, a copy of the old, odd map.

Friday on My Mind: A Frieda Klein Mystery

A bloated corpse turns up in the Thames, throat slashed, and the only clue is a hospital wristband reading "Dr. F. Klein". Frieda is taken to see the body and realizes with horror that it is Sandy, her ex-boyfriend. She's certain that the killer is Dean Reeve - the man who has never stopped haunting her. But the police think he has been dead for years, and Frieda is their number one suspect. With few options, Frieda goes on the run to save herself and try to uncover the truth.

The Malice of Waves

Five years ago, 14-year-old Max Wheeler disappeared from Priest's Island, an isolated but bleakly beautiful place on the edge of the Atlantic Ocean. In the close-knit local community, there are no secrets - except what happened to Max. None of the police or private investigations since have shed any light on what happened the night he went missing, presumed dead. But there is one man who is yet to take on the case: The Sea Detective.

No Name Lane

The hunt for a serial killer unearths an unsolved cold case from over 60 years ago. Young girls are being abducted and murdered in the Northeast. Out of favour detective constable Ian Bradshaw struggles to find any leads - and fears that the only thing this investigation will unravel is himself. Journalist Tom Carney is suspended by his London tabloid and returns to his home village in County Durham. Helen Norton is the reporter who replaced Tom on the local newspaper. Together they are drawn into a case that will change their lives forever.

After the Fire

London police detective Maeve Kerrigan has spent plenty of time at Murchison House. One of the many cement high-rise towers comprising the Maudling Estate housing project, Murchison House is home to a motley mix of society. From domestic abuse victims and elderly widows with nowhere else to turn to its flourishing criminal elements, Maeve is familiar with many of its occupants by name or reputation.

The Moth Catcher: A Vera Stanhope Mystery

Life seems perfect in the quiet community of Valley Farm. Then a shocking discovery shatters the silence. The owners of a big country house have employed a house sitter, a young ecologist, to look after the place while they're away. But his dead body is found by the side of the lane - a lonely place to die. When DI Vera Stanhope arrives on the scene, she finds the body of a second man. What the two victims seem to have in common is a fascination with studying moths - and with catching these beautiful, intriguing creatures.

The Night Stalker: Detective Erika Foster, Book 2

In the dead of a swelteringly hot summer's night, Detective Erika Foster is called to a murder scene. The victim, a doctor, is found suffocated in bed. His wrists are bound and his eyes bulging through a clear plastic bag tied tight over his head. A few days later, another victim is found dead in exactly the same circumstances. As Erika and her team start digging deeper, they discover a calculated serial killer - stalking their victims before choosing the right moment to strike.

Left for Dead: A Maeve Kerrigan Novella

A violent rapist is attacking women, leaving them for dead on south London streets. When young police woman Maeve Kerrigan responds to a domestic disturbance, she's horrified to stumble across the latest victim. But as a new recruit - and a female to boot - she'll have to face down not only her own nerves but rampant sexism from her colleagues if she wants to be taken seriously enough to even assist on the case.

Haunted Ground

When farmers cutting turf in an Irish peat bog make a grisly discovery, the perfectly intact body of a young woman with long red hair, archaeologist Cormac O'Callaghan and pathologist Nora Gavin are thrown together by their shared scientific interest in human remains. Because of the preservative effect of the bog, it is difficult to tell whether the body has lain there for two decades, two centuries, or two millennia.

In the Market for Murder: Lady Hardcastle, Book 2

Spring, 1909, and Lady Hardcastle, amateur sleuth and all-round eccentric, is enjoying a well-deserved rest. But a week after a trip to the cattle market, Spencer Caradine, a local farmer, turns up dead in the pub, face-down in his beef and mushroom pie. Once again, it is up to Lady Hardcastle and her maid, Florence, to solve the case.

A Quiet Life in the Country: A Lady Hardcastle Mystery, Book 1

Lady Emily Hardcastle is an eccentric widow with a secret past. Florence Armstrong, her maid and confidante, is an expert in martial arts. The year is 1908 and they've just moved from London to the country, hoping for a quiet life. But it is not long before Lady Hardcastle is forced out of her self-imposed retirement. There's a dead body in the woods, and the police are on the wrong scent. Lady Hardcastle makes some enquiries of her own, and it seems she knows a surprising amount about crime investigation...

Silent Scream: Detective Kim Stone Crime Thriller, Book 1

Five figures gather 'round a shallow grave. They had all taken turns to dig. An adult-sized hole would have taken longer. An innocent life had been taken, but the pact had been made. Their secrets would be buried, bound in blood. Years later a headmistress is found brutally strangled, the first in a spate of gruesome murders that shock the Black Country.

The Secret Hangman

Delia Williamson, a waitress and mother of two young girls, is reported missing. She is soon found in a public park, hanging from the crossbar of a children's swing set. The postmortem reveals that she has been murdered. Her current partner, her ex-husband, and a traveling salesman who frequented her restaurant are all suspects. Before Detective Superintendent Peter Diamond can solve the mystery, more will die. But even as he pursues a killer, he finds himself pursued by a secret admirer.

The Sea Detective

Cal McGill is an Edinburgh-based oceanographer, environmentalist and one-of-a-kind investigator. Using his knowledge of the waves - ocean currents, prevailing winds, shipping records - McGill can track where objects came from or where they've gone. It's a skill that can help solve mysteries ranging from disappearances to murder. Two severed feet wash up on two different islands off the coast of Scotland. Forensics shows that the feet belong to the same body.

The Trespasser: A Novel

Being on the murder squad is nothing like Detective Antoinette Conway dreamed it would be. Her partner, Stephen Moran, is the only person who seems glad she's there. The rest of her working life is a stream of thankless cases, vicious pranks, and harassment. Antoinette is savagely tough, but she's getting close to the breaking point. Their new case looks like yet another by-the-numbers lovers' quarrel gone bad. Aislinn Murray is blond, pretty, groomed to a shine, and dead in her catalogue-perfect living room, next to a table set for a romantic dinner.

Where Roses Never Die: Varg Veum

September 1977. Mette Misvãr, a three-year-old girl, disappears without trace from the sandpit outside her home. Her tiny, close middle-class community in the tranquil suburb of Nordas is devastated, but their enquiries and the police produce nothing. Curtains twitch, suspicions are raised, but Mette is never found.

Raven Black: Book One of the Shetland Island Quartet

It is a cold January morning, and Shetland lies beneath a deep layer of snow. Trudging home, Fran Hunter's eye is drawn to a splash of color on the frozen ground, ravens circling above. It is the strangled body of her teenage neighbor, Catherine Ross. The locals on the quiet island stubbornly focus their gaze on one man - loner and simpleton Magnus Tait.

Behind Dead Eyes

A corpse is found, its identity extinguished in the most shocking manner imaginable. Detective Ian Bradshaw can't catch the killer if no one can ID the victim. Out there, somewhere, a missing young woman may hold the answers. Journalist Helen Norton is about to uncover a massive criminal conspiracy. She just needs the final piece of the puzzle. Soon she will learn the price of the truth.

The Girl in the Ice: Detective Erika Foster Crime Thriller, Book 1

When a young boy discovers the body of a woman beneath a thick sheet of ice in a South London park, Detective Erika Foster is called in to lead the murder investigation. The victim, a beautiful young socialite, appeared to have the perfect life. Yet when Erika begins to dig deeper, she starts to connect the dots between the murder and the killings of three prostitutes, all found strangled, hands bound, and dumped in water around London.

But for the Grace: A DC Smith Investigation Series, Book 2

When another resident of the Rosemary House care home is found dead in her chair one Saturday evening in December, no one is very surprised - not until the results of a routine post-mortem reveal something extraordinary. Sergeant DC Smith and his team have to tread carefully as they investigate what took place, and Smith himself has to confront some difficult memories. Others, meanwhile, seem intent on getting him to leave the force altogether.

Publisher's Summary

Ruth Galloway receives a phone call that bears shocking news. A friend of hers from college, Dan Golding, has been killed in a fire at his Lancashire home. Her shock turns to alarm when she gets a letter from Dan. He has made a discovery that will change archaeology forever but he needs Ruth's advice. Even more alarming, he sounds vulnerable and frightened. DCI Harry Nelson is also rediscovering his past. Up north for a holiday, he meets his former colleague Sandy MacLeod, now at Blackpool CID. Sandy tells him there are strange circumstances surrounding Dan Golding's death. Many of those who worked with Dan seem to be afraid.

Many have secrets to hide. Ruth is drawn deep into the mystery, and where she goes, so does her toddler daughter, Kate. This time, it's not just Ruth's life at risk.

Action, suspense, great characters and a well-written story. I am getting used to the narrator/voices in my head disconnect (you know, when what you're hearing isn't how you thought the characters should sound ); Ms Corbett is absolutely capable-her men sound like men, her accents are amazing, and I like her voice.

If you're up for a decent forensic series without a lot of gore and isn't going to leave you unable to sleep at night, allow me to suggest this entire series. And I do suggest you start at the beginning to get the full flavor of how things are put together and who these people are.

And I'm delighted to say that while this series is beginning to flag a bit, it is still a solid 4 stars.

Ruth remains one of my favorite mystery characters. She is very real with believable strengths and weakness. Like all of us she is always second guessing herself. DCI Nelson and the Druid Cathbarth, other characters in these tales, are well developed with their own strengths and weakness. Ms. Griffiths' books, well plotted and riveting until the last paragraph, leave the reader wanting more.

The Ruth Galloway series is well-written and interesting, with good continuing character development throughout. Ruth is an archeologist who tends to always become involved in forensic activities, so has developed a strong relationship with some of the local police, as well as her friends from the university where she teaches.

In this book, Ruth receives a letter from a friend from an earlier time in her life, just after he has been killed in a fire, hinting at a stupendous archeological discovery. Ruth feels she must travel to Pendle University where he taught to investigate. So she sets out with her young daughter. Her friend Cathbad the druid is there, and so, conveniently, is Nelson, the policeman who is also father to her child.

As she looks into the discovery, dark and strange events begin to occur. Someone does not want her there, and will go to great lengths to get her to leave.This is a very good series. But it is always frustrating that Ruth manages to put herself into otherwise avoidable danger. In this book, it is her daughter who is at risk.

If the reader simply accepts that an intelligent woman with a young child seems to take chances that always lead to danger, this, like all the others, is a good book. It has good interaction among the characters beyond the mystery itself. I had read all the previous books, and this was the first with a narrator I have listened to. I was unimpressed with Clare Corbett's interpretation of male voices, but when she was simply reading the story itself, she was quite good.

Would you consider the audio edition of Dying Fall to be better than the print version?

Didn't read print version.

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Clare Corbett?

BRING BACK Jane McDowell! Clare Corbett is a terrible match for these characters! I'm going to finish the book, bit I'm dreading hearing the male characters talk. I can't comment on their accents, but she sounds as if she's doing parodies of male voices.

Go back to Jane McDowell as your narrator. Clare Corbett is irritating right from the beginning but when she starts to do the "voices" of the various characters she becomes unbearable. She is not able to keep the voices consistent with the associated characters and her idea of the local accents is just insulting. I could not finish listening to this book and will read it instead.

I am a voracious reader (average about 4-5 Audible books a week, in addition to those I "eyeball".) I have been hooked on recorded books since the time of cassettes/CDs and was thrilled when I became an Audible member in 2007. I find reader reviews good guides to spending my credits, so have finally decided to write a few (although, I would rather be reading!)

This 5th volume is my favorite of the series. I appreciated the different setting: Blackpool sees Ruth consulting on recent find by her old college chum (now dead in a mysterious fire.) Druid friend Cathbarth and Kate are in tow.

DCI Nelson and wife are vacationing in Blackpool, visiting his mother. Naturally, the 3 become entangled in solving the mystery behind archaeologist Goldingls fiery death.

I like the introduction to Nelson' family (his mum is a hoot and bonds quickly with Cathbarth) as well as his old "stomping" ground and colleagues. I look forward to seeing more of Sgt Tim (hoping he will follow Nelson back south, as he is an intriguing character.)

The mystery holds together fairly well and Kate isn't too much an intrusive part of the story (I typically prefer the surly loners). I actually find myself looking forward to seeing how Griffiths handles Kate's aging.

Some of the transitions between scenes are a bit choppy, but I suspect this is due to the format (probably wouldn't be as harsh in text.)

The narrator attempted to do several accents. If I were from Yorkshire, I would have been offended. Just because someone has an accent is no reason to make them sound stupid. The regular narration was so soft, I had to turn the volume way up. Even then, I could hardly hear it. But the "accents" were so loud and horrible that the dialogue seemed as if it were being yelled. Even the poor two year old screamed every single word of her dialogue. All in all, a ridiculous circus that really detracted from the book.

A nice addition to the series--I love the main character, Ruth--and the location, which is another "character" in the stories.

However the narration has been consistently horrid. Jane McDowell's strident, grating voice would leave me clenching my teeth after only a few moments of listening. However, Clare Corbett is worse--but in a different way. She has a pleasant enough voice, easy to listen to, until she attempts to do a male voice. At first I thought I was hallucinating--no WAY her clownish male characterizations would have been permitted. Wrong.

C'mon people--will somebody please just LISTEN to these performances before inflicting them on the paying customers?

What a pity the publisher changed the reader for this unabridged book.

The general narration was fine but I thought this reader was very poor on the mens' voices..

A good story spoiled for me by this.

If there are any more planned, please revert to the original reader.

9 of 9 people found this review helpful

Saffy

UK

7/19/13

Overall

Performance

Story

"Hugely enjoyable series"

Would you consider the audio edition of Dying Fall to be better than the print version?

As I currently have a visual impairment the audio edition is a lifesaver for me!

What did you like best about this story?

The continuing story of Ruth Galloway and friends. If you have never read any of this series I would suggest starting at the beginning.

Have you listened to any of Clare Corbett’s other performances? How does this one compare?

Yes I have listened to many of her performances and she is definitely one of my favourite narrators. This is one of her best performances, she really makes you feel a part of the story and the characters lives.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

It is not an unputdownable gripping story but it does draw you in over the course of the book.

Any additional comments?

I love the Ruth Galloway series and would highly recommend it. This is not the best in the series as the story gets a little silly in places but I still loved it!

Would you be willing to try another one of Clare Corbett’s performances?

I miss the performance of Jane McDowell. For the female voices and the story line, Clare Corbett does an excellent job, but her male and child voices sounds like a caricature.

4 of 4 people found this review helpful

Clare pitt

4/16/15

Overall

Performance

Story

"Good book, annoying narrator"

Not a bad story, quite interesting at times but the narrators attempt at male and the child's voices set my teeth on edge.

4 of 4 people found this review helpful

Janette

Stirling, United Kingdom

3/2/13

Overall

"Back on Form"

Great to see the author back on form. In this book we discover more about our favourite characters from the previous books and also discover new characters added to the family. I have to say I loved Nelson's Mum and her interpretation of Cathbads name.

I bought this novel without reading any synopses as I like the author so much. So imagine my surprise settling down on my train trip to Blackpool from Scotland to discover the book set in and around the blackpool area, which brought the whole story alive for me as I knew where Ruth and Kate were located.

Superb read that had me laughing, crying and near the end so shocked I could hardly breath and shouting aloud "Oh NO!: If you read you may discover why lol.

I Highly recommend this book.

4 of 4 people found this review helpful

Apts48

UK

3/31/15

Overall

Performance

Story

"Great book but narrator misses"

If you could sum up Dying Fall in three words, what would they be?

Fun, different, entertaining

What did you like best about this story?

The Characters and the archeology aspects coming together within a mystery.

Who might you have cast as narrator instead of Clare Corbett?

The original narrator was great. Please bring her back! Other reviewers have said the same. Clare Corbett is a good narrator and have liked her very much for other books but she was not good for this book. Her take on the regional accents was poor and whenever the child Kate appears SHE SCREAMS in this awful fake child voice. I found it so disturbing that it almost ruined a wonderful fun book for me as it was actually unpleasant and jarring.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

book yes - narrator no.

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

mollyeyre

Leicestershire UK

2/23/15

Overall

Performance

Story

"Not brilliant"

The story in this was a bit odd and far-fetched, but okay-ish. I did get irritated by the fact that so much was made of the Lancashire, Yorkshire divide yet the accent that was used was Yorkshire NOT Lancashire. It also gets a bit over the top in the 'oh dear I am so fat and frumpy!' department (Ruth). I don't think I'd bother with another in the series, especially with this narrator.

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

Valerie

Brighton, United Kingdom

10/12/14

Overall

Performance

Story

"Good story spoilt by bad narrator"

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

Yes.

Who might you have cast as narrator instead of Clare Corbett?

Jane McDowell

Any additional comments?

I loved the story, but the narrator spoilt it for me. Her male voices were awful. Unfortunately I have already bought the next story and Clare Corbett is again the narrator. However, I shall not buy any further books in this series if she continues to read them.

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

Roderic

Victoria Park, Australia

5/8/14

Overall

Performance

Story

"Mildly Enjoyable but Main Character Irritates"

Would you try another book written by Elly Griffiths or narrated by Clare Corbett?

I would probably read another book in the Ruth Galloway series (I have read all of them published so far) but I would hope that the character (and author) get over the 'I'm a mother now!' fixation. I understand the sketching of a character's concerns but the narrative's harping on the New Mother self-consciousness makes for irritating reading.

4 of 4 people found this review helpful

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